Does Openness to Experience matter in love and work? Domain, facet, and developmental evidence from a 24-year longitudinal study.

Abstract

Although numerous studies have demonstrated that personality traits predict important love and work outcomes, there is mixed evidence for the relevance of Openness to Experience to love and work. We sought to better understand the long-term consequences of Openness in these two domains. We examined the associations between Openness and 51 love and work outcomes using data from a 24-year longitudinal study of UC Berkeley students (N=497) followed from the beginning of college into midlife. Using latent growth curve modeling, we examined whether Openness levels and change in Openness from college to midlife were associated with downstream love and work outcomes. Additionally, we tested whether three facets of Openness (intellectual interests, aesthetic interests, and unconventionality) had differential associations with outcomes. Although stable levels of Openness predicted few work or love outcomes, individual differences in Openness change were associated with delayed romantic commitment and some career outcomes. In addition, there were significant differences among facets of Openness: intellectual interests were highly associated with educational outcomes, whereas aesthetic interests and unconventionality predicted nontraditional career motivations. We situate these results in past research on real-world consequences of personality traits and discuss implications for theory and future research.